STARKVILLE — Mississippi State’s wide receivers were expected to be the best position group on the team in Jeff Lebby’s first season as head coach last year.
The Bulldogs added Kevin Coleman and Kelly Akharaiyi in the transfer portal to play alongside freshmen Mario Craver, Braylon Burnside and JJ Harrell as well as promising returners like Jordan Mosley and Creed Whittemore. But among that group, only Coleman truly panned out in 2024.
The St. Louis product had previously played at Jackson State and Louisville, and he had a career year as a junior at MSU, finishing with 74 catches for 932 yards and six touchdowns. But he hopped back in the portal after the season and transferred back to his home state to play at Missouri, his fourth school in as many years. And he was hardly the only one.
Craver, Whittemore and Harrell were also out the door, as were depth pieces like Antonio Harmon and Trent Hudson. In addition, Burnside switched sides of the ball in the offseason and is now playing defensive back. That left the cupboard almost completely bare entering 2025, with only Mosley — who had 23 receptions for 405 yards last fall — back in the fold.
Lebby and his staff reloaded as well as they could, bringing in six receivers through the portal. Three of them had previous Southeastern Conference experience, with Brenen Thompson coming from Oklahoma, Ayden Williams from Ole Miss and Anthony Evans III from Georgia.
“I’m proud of that group,” Lebby said. “They’ve worked incredibly hard, they’ve practiced really hard, they’ve been serious about being great teammates. I’ve talked about how unselfish of a group it is.”
Thompson has the most familiarity with Lebby’s offense, having played for him as a freshman when Lebby was the Sooners’ offensive coordinator. He missed a chunk of that season with an injury but started 10 games last year as a sophomore, finishing with 19 catches for 230 yards and two touchdowns.
“The system for me is pretty much the same,” Thompson said. “(With) a new quarterback comes new timing, especially with new guys, so getting the timing down is important, and that’s what we’re really working on right now in the spring.”
The Bulldogs also picked up Jaron Glover, a big-play threat from Michigan State, and two former Mid-American Conference receivers in Cam Thompson from Northern Illinois and Markus Allen from Eastern Michigan.
Evans, who had a career day against MSU last year with Georgia, is also dangerous in the punt and kick return game and was fielding punts during practice Tuesday.
“These guys have practiced in a really good way,” Lebby said. “I’m excited about the depth, and I’m excited about how serious they are about being good. That’s been a fun group to be around, fun group to coach.”
Other than Mosley, the Bulldogs’ only returning receivers are Ricky Johnson and Sanfrisco Magee, who both redshirted as true freshmen last year. Johnson played in four games and caught two passes for nine yards, while Magee made two appearances and had six yards on his only reception.
“(Mosley) has continued to get better. Have to get him healthy and rolling,” Lebby said. “Ricky Johnson has done a great job. Looking for huge things out of him as he continues to make his strides. Ayden has done well. We have a really strong group there. We’re going to be able to roll guys and play with some depth, but what I like about them most is they’ve been about the right stuff and they’ve been team first.”
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